1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to wireless digital communication and more specifically to a system and method for managing access point failover within a wireless mesh network.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional wireless mesh network includes a plurality of nodes configured to communicate with one another and with one or more access points coupled to the wireless mesh network. Nodes may communicate with a particular access point either directly, or indirectly by way of other nodes within the wireless network. For example, a given node may transmit data to a neighboring node, and the neighboring node may then forward the data to the access point.
The sequence of nodes used to communicate with an access point across the wireless mesh network is known as a “path.” A given node typically selects a “primary” path that is preferentially used to communicate with a “primary” access point. When the node selects a primary access point and a corresponding primary path, the node registers with the primary access point, thereby notifying the access point that the node may be reached via the primary path. The primary access point may then advertise to an upstream router that the node is reachable through that path.
Occasionally, the primary path selected by a node may become unavailable due to, e.g., a hardware failure associated with nodes in the path, among other problems. In such situations, the node may register with a second primary access point corresponding to a second primary path. The second primary access point may then advertise to the upstream router that the node may be reached through the second primary path. Ideally, the node also de-registers with the original primary access point, notifying the original primary access point that the node is no longer reachable through the associated path.
However, under certain circumstances, the node cannot successfully de-register from the original primary access point, resulting in a situation where both the original primary access point and the new primary access point advertise to the upstream router different primary paths to the node. The router has no way of selecting the “correct” primary path and may become deadlocked when provided with two alternative primary paths to the node. Consequently, the node may become unreachable for a period of time, which may diminish the overall throughput of the wireless mesh network.
As the foregoing illustrates, what is needed in the art is an improved technique for managing access point failover within a wireless mesh network.